Kinesin Family, Member C3 (KIFC3)

KIFC3 belongs to the large superfamily of kinesins, molecular motors that use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to translocate cargoes along microtubules.

KIFC3 is a minus end-directed microtubule motor protein, therefore it accumulates in regions where minus ends of microtubules assemble. In polarized epithelial cells, KIFC3 is localized on membrane organelles immediately beneath the apical plasma membrane of renal tubular epithelial cells in vivo and polarized MDCK II cells in vitro. Flotation assay, coupled with detergent extraction, demonstrated that KIFC3 is associated with Triton X-100-insoluble membrane organelles, and that it overlaps with apically transported TGN-derived vesicles.